


Dolls and Toy Soldiers

by 7thManiac



Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Genre: Action & Romance, Adorable terminator, Big Sister Maya, F/M, Guns, Implied/Referenced Past Sexual Abuse, Inspired by Gunslinger Girls, Killer cyborg, Mild Brainwashing, Warm brother & sister fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-30 19:23:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13958337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/7thManiac/pseuds/7thManiac
Summary: 11 years ago, Shinji Ikari disappeared. Days before the arrival of the Third Angel he has finally been located, living in Europe. NERV sends Misato Katsuragi to retrieve him, but instead of finding a young weak willed boy as his old psyche profile said she would, she finds someone completely different. That young naive boy is long gone, and in his place is a surgically modified, highly trained and experienced killing machine in the skin of a 14 year old boy.As Shinji embarks on this new journey, to face the toughest foes he will ever face, will he become more than what he is? Will he become more than just a simple weapon?





	Dolls and Toy Soldiers

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first story on the sight! Excited to be here. To anyone who also is a user on FF then I may be familiar, I basically write Evangelion fics and crossovers and little else with the same user name. This story is based off of my old Toy Soldier story on that site and will replace it, but I've ditched the 1st person POV for limited 3rd person, which is much easier to write for me. 
> 
> This story will also be posted there...eventually, pretty busy with finishing my college program right now. And my crossovers from there will also be posted here, once I get around to re-reading and updating them to be better. 
> 
> There are some French and Italian forms of address here, and since I don’t speak a lick of Italian and was taught the Canadian/Quebec version of French and not the European kind (and I lost most of that knowledge over the years) PLEASE tell me if its incorrect if you are a speaker.

“Dialogue”

_‘Thoughts’_

* * *

** Prologue: Gunslinger Boy **

**NERV HQ, Tokyo-3, Japan**

Inside his dark, cavernous office sat Gendo Ikari. Dressed in black, his eyes peered out through his orange tinted sunglasses at the massive underground space that was the Geofront, his kingdom and domain. Here, his plans would soon come together and he would be reunited with Yui, with his love.

A voice from his desk snapped him from his thoughts.

“Sorry to interrupt you, Commander Ikari.” It was his secretary.

Silently he spun around and pressed on the intercom, “what is it?”

“Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki wishes to meet with you, sir. He’s right here, according to him it’s a priority-1 report from intelligence.”

“Send him in.”

“Yes sir.”

The double doors audibly clicked and swung open, and in marched NERV’s vice commander, probably the closest thing the gruff Supreme Commander had to a friend left in the world. Dressed in black NERV officer’s uniform he was an older man, his grey hair swept back and his shoes click-clacking on floor, the sound echoing. The large room, dark and ominous, was designed to intimidate, the light coming from the Geofront behind him casting a shadow of his silhouette.

None of it worked on Kozo Fuyutsuki. The man came up to his desk and put down a Manila paper envelope, and sat down on the chair in front of him.

He didn’t bother looking inside it, lest it be unimportant, so he waited for Fuyutsuki talk.

“We found him, Gendo.” His voice was stern, “we found your son. The Third Child has been located.”

Hidden behind his sunglasses his yes widened. Gendo was usually not one to be caught off guard, but the Third Child had been missing for eleven years. It was in a car accident, a few months after he had left his son with one of his uncles so he could concentrate on reuniting with his Yui. A car had hit the both of them as they walked at night. Of course, he had quickly moved to confirm it, and the boy’s uncle was indeed dead, but the boy’s body had gone missing. It was equally suspicious and frustrating, even in its infancy NERV should be able to track down a dead child’s body.

Even if his son was dead, a clone could still pilot Unit-01.

“…This is promising news. Where did the information come from?” he asked.

The old man furrowed his brows. “Actually, intelligence decided to contact foreign governments for information on the boy. A desperate attempt, I know, but with the time of the Third Angel’s arrival upon us I ordered them to expand their net as wide as possible. The European Union’s parliament contacted us saying he currently lives within their borders…though it did take the Marduk Institute informing them of his status as one of the Children.”

Gendo pursed his lips, “the leak of his identity is an acceptable trade-off for his location, inform intelligence to make sure that the information does not spread.” Fuyutsuki nodded and Gendo sat back, frowning. This raised questions, important ones. “Why is he in Europe? Why did this search take over a decade? The MAGIs in Germany should have access to EU files, he should have been found by now. If the EU was unaware of his use an Evangelion pilot I cannot think of a reason they would take him.”

“It wasn’t SEELE, if that is what you are thinking. Even they know that the destruction of the Angels are necessary for all of us. Shinji was picked up by the EU’s Human Welfare Agency.”

He couldn’t help but raise a brow. Fuyutsuki saw this and grimaced, “the Human Welfare Agency is a front. It doesn’t exist, not truly. To the public they are a government agency that takes in children with severe injuries too severe to treat via normal means from across the EU and uses advanced and experimental procedures to give them a chance of surviving.

“They do just that, of course… The treatment they receive _is_ advanced, even by NERV standards. The children _are_ taken in and housed by the government. What the public does _not_ know, and according to Intelligence is true, is that the children become property of the European Union Internal Security Agency. Specifically, they belong to their Division 3, specializing in using cyborgs for wet work.”

“And I assume these children are the cyborgs?”

“Yes,” the older man huffed, face crinkling in obvious disgust at the thought. “According to Doctor Akagi any kind of cybernetic implants respond better to the still developing nervous system of children. Their young brains are also quick to adapt to using and adjusting to their superhuman capabilities.”

“I understand,” Gendo nodded. Honestly, he was little concerned with the trivialities of morality or the life his son had lived. He was alive to pilot Unit-01, everything else was of lesser concern. If all else fails, the option of cloning the boy was still an option. It mattered little _who_ , as long as Unit-01 had a pilot she would accept, the scenario could be adjusted. “ What has the EU said about transferring over custody of the Third Child?”

“Transfer to our care should be possible as soon as we send someone to handle the transfer. It should take a couple of days, according to them. Their report said he’s stationed in London, United Kingdom.”

“Good, send word to Captain Katsuragi and tell her to prepare to leave tomorrow at 0900 for London. Have her take someone from under Dr. Akagi to make sure the modifications to the Third Child do not negatively affect his ability to pilot Unit-01.”

Fuyuki nodded, “understood. I’m sure she will protest but I’ll let her know.” He stood, “I’ll also get work started on preparing IDs for your son.”

With that the elder man left the office, the door shutting and clicking, locking behind him, leaving Gendo alone once again.

Slowly the commander spun around to face the window again.

 _‘Yes, this is good.’_ He leaned back, _‘very good. With prior combat training and experience he will serve as a more effective tool and will hopefully limit damage to Unit-01 in battle.’_ A smirk wormed its way onto his face, cold and merciless. It seemed like his son was going to be a most useful pawn after all. _‘Soon Yui, I will meet you again. Soon.’_

* * *

**London, United Kingdom**

In a small café in the heart of the rain drenched city, sat a boy. He was an unassuming thing, dark chestnut brown hair, lightly tanned skin. His face was more on the side of ‘cute’ than handsome, and he was dressed in an untucked long sleeve light blue shirt paired with a black tie, and black jeans and shining leather boots. A pair of sleek black framed glasses with rectangular lenses gave him a non-threatening book-ish air.

Looking at the boy, one wouldn’t think his life had been bathed in blood.

Idly, he slowly spun the half-empty cup of coffee on the table, his cold dark blue eyes watching the rain fall onto the city through the window. Sharp superhuman hearing easily able to pierce the quiet of the café to hear the calming sound of rain.

In his mind though, he was away. Far away, reliving a memory, one of the few he had of his old self that were not destroyed by the drugs that made up his conditioning medication. It was a similar day, water pouring from the sky. He was walking home, being yanked across the sidewalk, his small wrist in the painful grip of his uncle, a man whose face he could no longer remember. Then there was a flash, the honk of a car horn, and a large crash. A car had slammed into the both of them, pinning his uncle, a bastard of a drunk according to his handler, against a wall. It killed him instantly.

Himself? He was sent flying, ending up under a bus stop shelter. He remembered lying on his back, a warm pool growing under him, the searing, sharp pain of broken ribs and four shattered limbs. Distinctly, he remembered being glad that he was at least out of the rain.

He figured the old him was an idiot and a massive optimist.

Farther back he remembered…being on a…train station? Yes, it was fuzzy, but he remembered standing in a train close to the doors, staring up at a man wearing orange tinted sunglasses, his hair and beard scruffy and he wore a brown coat. In his memories his mouth moved but almost all the words were lost, destroyed by time and drugs. All he could remember was one phrase, spoken in a tone as cold as ice.

_You have no purpose._

Anger spiked in him at the memory, his hand twitching to shoot something, an automatic response ingrained by training. Was such a man truly his father? Or, at least some relative. What kind of person abandoned their kin to a drunk? He frowned, _‘knowing how all of the others have equally…_ unsavoury _pasts, perhaps it’s better to not remember anything like the others.’_

 _No one_  was selected to be a candidate by the European Union Internal Security Agency Division 3, or The Agency as most of the cyborgs and agents called it, for Project ORION for having a happy past.

Like always, whenever he thought about wanting to have been wiped blank by the conversion process, his oldest memory came into his mind.

Flashes of brown hair and piercing, loving green eyes looking down at him…and _that smile_ , a smile that had nothing but happiness and love. Even now it made him shiver and warmed his heart, it was a pure smile with no hidden meaning. A beautiful memory worth protecting.

He didn’t know _how_ he knew, but he somehow knew it was his mother. What little he still had of her, the one good memory of his old self, the only reason he was ever happy he still had left overs of the old life he once lived.

Of a boy who died all those years ago.

A voice snapped him out of his musings, calling his name. His conditioned mind recognized her voice, snapping to attention on reflex.

“Hullooo? Shin? _Fratellino_?” He turned to the woman sitting across from him. She struck an imposing figure, short dark brown hair a lighter shade than his, dark brown eyes sharp as knives, and dawned in an equally sharp business suit and skirt. The expression aimed toward him was soft, in contrast, caring and worried.

He responded in his usual, flat tone. “Yes, sister?”

“Stop,” she soft chastised him. “Normal kids don’t talk in that tone.”

Calmly, he took a sip of his coffee. It was _ok_. “I’m not normal, sister.”

She let out a small sigh and took a sip of her own drink. As she set her cup down she shrugged, “true but I didn’t raise you to be like the others _outside_.”

He couldn’t help but feel awkward since he knew it was the truth. Ferro was very careful raising him since the day they met. As soon as his implants were stable, and his body adjusted to them, she limited the amount of conditioning he received to the minimum allowed. He had asked her why when he was much younger, almost all of his siblings received the standard dose of the drug mixture. Ferro had complained about how it dulled his emotions, though he didn’t see the problem there. They had all heard how hard people often found it to kill, if that was what humans normally felt then he didn’t want to be like them. If he couldn’t kill, what use was he to her?

Still, he felt bad about making her upset, so he gave her a small smile.

“Sorry, big sister.”

“It’s ok,” she smiled back before turning to look out the window. “Now, why were you staring out the window?” She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, a teasing smirk on her lips. “Oh! Did you see a pretty girl?!” His big sister then leaned in to whisper, “want me to track her down? Arrange a date, maybe?”

He felt honestly touched that Ferro seemed to jump for joy at the thought of him showing interest in a woman that wasn’t herself. Even more so with the implication of using her position in a secret government agency to track down a civilian, though he suspected that wasn’t morally ‘right’.

“No,” he looked back out the window. “I was just…reminiscing.” Finishing his coffee, he added, “remembering my old self.”

“I see,” she said. Though he wasn’t looking at her he could tell she wanted him to continue. So, he did.

“Sister…what was my old name?”

“Shinji Ikari, that’s your real name.” He frowned internally, ‘real name’? To him, this Shinji Ikari was dead. She continued, “though since you were born in Japan it would be reversed. It would be Ikari Shinji, since they put surnames first. It’s where I got your name from, _Fratellino_. Shin is just shortened from Shinji. Actually, if I had my say I wouldn’t have changed your name at all.”

“Protocol.”

“Exactly, so I kept your first name as close as possible, since you have to take my last name.”

“I like having your last name,” he looked away with cheeks dusted pink. Even through the conditioning, he felt embarrassed, like he was confessing.

Ferro just chuckled, if she noticed his blush she didn’t comment, and instead just ruffled his hair lovingly, making him almost melt under her touch. “I love you too, _Fratellino._ ”

His blush deepened ever so slightly, though he couldn’t help but smile.

* * *

**_The Next Day…_ **

**European Human Welfare Agency UK Branch Office, Downtown London**

Sitting in a normal looking waiting room, sat two women. One of them was the Operations Director of NERV Headquarters, Captain Misato Katsuragi.

 _‘This sucks,’_ she had never hated the Supreme Commander more than in this moment. To call her at so _early_ , telling her to pack up for a trip to London in less than a day. Now here she was, half way across the globe to pick up the Commander’s son. She really hoped that ‘being a bastard’ wasn’t a genetic trait, working with the kid as one of her pilots was going to suck otherwise.

Idly, she weaved her fingers through her long raven locks as she looked around. The waiting room looked so…so _normal_. Beige walls, generic paintings and dusty plants. During the briefing before leaving for the UK they had been told the EHWA’s true purpose. She was expecting something more sci-fi, kids with guns and cameras attached walking around.

Misato’s large childish side couldn’t help but be disappointed, the only people she’d seen walking around not wearing some stereotypical office uniform was her and Maya in NERV uniforms.

Speaking of the girl, she glanced at Maya quietly sitting beside her, absorbed in a fashion magazine. The cute younger girl looked surprisingly awake and professional, her tan NERV jacket and skirt wrinkle free, brown eyes sharp and her short brown hair tidy. Unlike how Misato usually saw her, a tan NERV beret sat atop her head, making her look just a bit more formal than usual. Misato couldn’t help but be impressed with how well Maya put herself together so last minute.

 _‘I guess working under Rits doing science stuff into the late hours made her a good choice.’_ She looked down at herself and thought, _‘well I think I did a good job too.’_

Her short black dress shirt and white tie were clean, and her black skirt had few wrinkles. The red leather NERV officer’s jacket she wore over it all was as stylish as always, and she hadn’t managed to forget her own red NERV officer’s beret.

Still, she glanced back at Maya’s perfect uniform. _‘How the hell does she not have any wrinkles after sleeping in that…_ interesting _position in the VTOL? Is it some tech from Project E, special uniforms? …Would be nice to have that, no evidence from…_ relaxing _the night before.’_

She made a note to ask Rits about it when she got back.

The receptionist talking to them snapped both of their attention.

“Captain Katsuragi?”

“Yes?”

She gestured to the man in a black suit beside her desk, “please follow this gentleman. He will take you to one of our consultation room.”

The two got up and followed the suited man through the office space of the EHWA. Again, Misato couldn’t help but notice how normal it all looked. Cubicles, office workers, water coolers.

Then, in one corner, she spotted a pair of kids. They couldn’t be cyborgs though, could they? The pair looked so normal, they were beautiful kids. One was a girl dressed in a simple skirt and light cardigan top, her hair was a long and a beautiful platinum blonde, styled into a long French braid. She was facing away from Misato but the earbuds she had on was visible. The other was a boy of south-east Asian looking descent, he was in a wheelchair and napping, a blanket draped over him.

She shook her head and continued to follow.

“It’s so…so normal,” Maya said to her, the younger NERV member slowly looking around the various rooms and hallways they were both guided through.

Eventually they stopped at the end of a hallway in front of the door. There was a sign on it that Misato couldn’t read, it looked to be English, and the only other language she ever picked up was German.

Maya seemed to be able to read it, “consultation room number seven?” Turning to the man who had been silent up to this point, “is this where we’re going to meet him?”

“Yes ma’am.” He opened the door, “one of our people will be with you shortly.”

They both walked in and Misato took a look around. It was a nice office, warm brown wooden walls with an expensive looking desk at the centre, two chairs in front. Both sat down as Misato kept looking around the room. There were a few shelves on the walls with books.

“Something about this place feels…off,” Misato couldn’t help but mutter.

Maya hummed. “Misato-san, look at the name plate on the desk. ‘Ferro Ackerman – Field Consultant’…do you think she’s going to be the one to meet us?”

“Probably…” Misato muttered as she noticed something. It was a faint smell, one she doubted Maya would notice. A faint mix of gun powder and lubricant. She sighed, she was looking for signs and here it was. _‘Using kids as assassins._ Fuck me _.’_

Just as she finished that thought, the door opened and the two turned behind them. In walked a woman, she was of average build, obviously Caucasian and slightly taller than Misato. Her hair was short and brown, with matching sharp eyes. Dressed in a clean suit she seemed the ‘pure business’ type…Misato was _looking forward_ _to talking to her already._

After a curt nod she walked to her desk and right on her heels followed a boy. 13-15 years of age, brown hair and dark blue eyes, slightly tan and matching the MAGI’s estimate on what Shinji Ikari would look like at this age almost perfectly. He was dressed in black jeans and shoes, a white dress shirt and a blood red tie with an unzipped black hoodie worn over it. A guitar case was slung over his shoulder. 

As he walked in he quickly glanced at the NERV pair, and Misato felt her blood run cold, a shiver of fear running down her spine. A quick glance at Maya told her she felt the same. The look was cold, glacial, purely analytical and made the Commander’s stare feel warm in comparison. There was no innocence in those eyes, she immediately knew he was a cyborg. Misato guessed he was sizing them up, a threat assessment of some kind. It shouldn’t have unnerved her, it was something NERV’s Section 2 agents did all the time, but even in those eyes they saw you as human. In this boy’s eyes she was not human, just something to line up in his cross hairs and destroy.

After the longest two seconds of her life, the little murder machine followed after his handler as she sat down at her desk, sliding up to a defensive position behind her and to the side.

The woman soon introduced herself in perfect Japanese as Agent Ferro Ackerman, a handler in the European Union Internal Security Agency’s Division 3, and in charge of one of their cyborgs.

It was then that Misato realized that the boy standing behind her, looking equally bored and ready to kill her, was not just Shinji Ikari, but Agent Ackerman’s cyborg charge. He was nothing like how she thought a cyborg would look like, everything about him seemed so _normal_ , ruthlessly cold eyes aside. There were no glowing red eyes or obvious machinery.

It was honestly scary.

With a quick, calming, breath, Misato nodded to both of them and introduced herself, “it’s good to meet you Agent Ackerman. I am Captain Misato Katsuragi, Operations Director at NERV Headquarters.” Misato hoped to high Heaven, not that she actually _believed_ in Heaven, that she sounded calm and professional. The little cyborg behind Ferro was still giving them the scary eyes.

“And I am First Lieutenant Maya Ibuki, NERV Research and Development,” Maya gave the boy a small smile.

Misato had to applaud Maya for the word choice, Project-E was top secret and saying she was R&D wasn’t a lie, technically. What _really_ impressed her was Maya’s smile, it didn’t seem to affect him any, but she was better than Misato in looking calm. _‘Rits chose her well.’_

The agent just smiled at them politely, making Misato fear the woman just a bit, it was a smile she knew well having worked in the higher ranks of the JSSDF. It was the smile of a spook. The woman turned to her partner and the smile grew much warmer. To Misato’s surprise he eased up the glare, and a breath she didn’t know she was holding in left her.

“ _Fratellino_ , introduce yourself to these two beautiful women.”

He bowed slightly, his voice surprised Misato with how _soft_ it was, like a gentle breeze. His tone though, reminded her of Rei, flat and stoic. “Designation, Unit-307B of the Internal Security Agency Division 3’s second generation cyborgs. Human alias, Shin Ackerman, it is a pleasure to meet you both.”

“Now. Now,” Ackermann tutted playfully as she looked at her cyborg. “I told you that from now on you’re going by your real name. It’s Shinji Ikari now, remember?”

“Yes sister,” he flatly replied.

The spook simply shook her head and turned back to Maya and Misato, a small but honest smile on her face now. “I’m sorry, he’s a bit…shy around strangers,” she explained. “Now, I would honestly prefer to show you proper English hospitality. I want to know about the people I’ll be handing my precious little Shinji over to, you understand. That said, I am quite afraid that we must skip the pleasantries if we want to stick to your timetable. If I remember correctly, you want to depart for Japan ASAP?”

“That is correct, Agent Ackerman.” Misato asked, “out of curiosity why are you both able to speak Japanese? And so well, too. Shinji I understand, but you as well Ms. Ackerman?”

“Please, call me Ferro. I picked up Japanese due to an old fling years ago. As for Shinji, I had to reteach him Japanese myself. The conditioning and mental molding means that he already knew English well enough by the time they handed him over to me, but almost everything else was blank. It’s part of his heritage, right?” Ferro looked over her shoulder, smirking at her soon-to-be former partner. “I used to force him to speak Japanese at home, though he doesn’t mind doing it now.

“Anyway, the Agency has already completed most of the paper work for the transfer of our kid to NERV. I also already briefed him on the reason for the transfer and most of out preparations are done, just need to finish up packing. All that you need, is for us to sign the agreement papers.”

Misato mentally sighed, this was good. Command wanted him back _ASAP_ , so he could get synced up with Unit-01 after Rei’s injury at the hands of a berserks Unit-00. Japan had no active Eva pilots, and that was unacceptable. She couldn’t help but wonder though, what was ‘conditioning’? _‘Is it brainwashing? Ugh…and mental molding? I really want to go home, get a drink.’_

“But!” Ferro held up a hand, “I want you two to do something for me before I hand my adorable brother over.”

 _‘Well, shit.’_ Misato prayed it was something she could do. “NERV will try to accommodate you to the best of our abilities.”

“No,” Ferro shook her head. “You misunderstand me, Katsuragi- _san_. I want _you_ two to do something for me. I just want you two to… _understand_ what you’re getting into. Now, Miss Ibuki, Miss Katsuragi, you both seem like good people. People with a conscience. So, I propose a trial run, a…test I want you both to take to see if I can trust you.”

Misato frowned, “and if we don’t pass?”

The agent meaningfully looked at Shinji and simply hummed, “I _wonder_?” Misato shivered as those cold brown eyes glanced back at her. The smile Ferro gave was one of the scariest things she’d ever seen. “Now, don’t worry. This isn’t something that’s official, just a simple personally test.”

Maya and Misato leaned in as the Lieutenant asked, “are you asking us to keep this off NERV’s books?”

The concern was clear in her voice, and Misato could understand. Hell, she shared the sentiment…this could get ugly, and that’s without taking the obvious death threat into account.

“Yes, I am. Now, what do you two say?”

Misato and Maya shared a glance. This was too important, NERV was too important, and they _needed_ an operational Eva pilot if an angel makes landfall. “We understand.”

“Good,” Ferro replied with a satisfied smile on her face. She stood and gestured for them to smile, “now. Follow me ladies, this should only take a few hours. If it makes you both feel better, the Agency’s prepared a hotel for the both of you.”

* * *

As the group walked down the hallways of the Human Welfare Agency Maya couldn’t help but notice the…feel of the building had changed. No more normal office spaces, no generic pictures that decorate the white walls. The warm wood doors were gone, and cold reinforced metal replaced them.

 _‘This is the real face of the EHWA I guess,’_ Maya thought. _‘The part no civilian would ever see, Internal Security Agency Division 3.’_

She grimaced, this place was just… _wrong_.

Her eyes landed on Shinji, who was in front both her and Misato, faithfully following behind his handler. She honestly didn’t know how to feel about him, other than fear.

A short five minute walk later, and they arrived at a small briefing room, a projector hanging off the ceiling. A small table was pushed against the right wall, several lockers beside it and metal boxes under it. The room was labeled ‘Ready Room 107’, apparently the briefing/debriefing and prep room for her, Shinji and the other cyborgs he was teamed up with.

“Shinji, go get ready,” the agent ordered. Shinji nodded and silently walked over to the table as Ferro called for both her and Misato’s attention, lighting up the projector. “Now ladies, leave him be, you’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other. For now, he knows what he has to do while I explain your part in all this.”

As she explained the plan, Maya couldn’t help but wonder _what the hell had she gotten herself into?!_

Agent Ferro’s plan was for Captain Katsuragi and herself to act as substitute handlers for Shinji, a role they would both take on when he was finally transferred over to NERV. There was a rundown apartment complex near the southern edge of London that the Agency would drive them to. Once there, Misato and herself were to go to the 16th floor, room 1602. Inside were several separatist terrorists, and the two of them were to pretend to be a pair of reporters to lure someone out and to get the door open. Whether it was to shoo they away to kill them, it didn’t matter. Shinji would take over and use the opening to storm the apartment…and ‘neutralize’ the targets inside.

 _‘What’s the point?’_ she pursed her lips, _‘to show us that he’s a killing machine? I already know that.’_ With a groan she rubbed her brows. _‘Senpai, why did you let Misato take me? Give Hyuga away next time! He’s gaga over Misato-san anyway._

 _You lived a straight life. Went through school and never dated, never drank, all the way to graduation from university. Graduated with honours, and recruited by_ the _Doctor Akagi  Ritsuko for NERV to help protect humanity. You even climbed the ladder to be Doctor Akagi’s second. And now you’re going to be given the leash to a murder machine…great.’_

“Alright,” Agent Ferro snapped Maya out of her thoughts, “that will be all.” She then turned to Shinji, “I need to go and get some cars ready to go. Be a dear would you, and lead them to the car pool?”

“Yes, sister,” came the flat reply.

With a smile and a loving ruffle of his hair the agent walked out of the room. Someone then tapped her shoulder and Maya, deep in stress, almost jumped out of her seat.

She turned around…to see Shinji. He was dressed almost the same as before, though a light grey tactical vest was worn over his dress shirt and tie, pouches full with magazines while his hoodie was worn over it all. She was honestly surprised to see him all geared up, she didn’t hear him at all during the briefing. She swallowed as she realized she had to look up to talk to him, afraid to see his scary glare again. She braced herself…and looked up to see a face _ever so faintly_ tinged with…worry? It was hard to tell, and she was half sure she was seeing things.

“Um…Lieutenant Ibuki?” he asked and looked up at her eyes. Once again she was surprised with how _soft_ his voice was, it wasn’t difficult to hear but it had an airy tranquil quality to it.

She also couldn’t help but be enraptured by his eyes, now that he was this close and didn’t look like he wanted to kill her she could finally have a good look at them. They were so… _human_ , a deep blue that was so obviously full of the concern his face did not show.

“Y-Yes, Shinji-kun?”

She tensed as he reached inside his hoodie…and pulled out a pistol. Maya froze, never having had a weapon pulled on her, her heart pounded in her chest. _‘Oh, God!’_

Just as she was about to close her eyes, and before the pistol was even pointed at her, he removed the magazine and pulled the slide back, ejecting the chambered round. Without effort he caught it and put it back into the magazine, then de-cocked the hammer. With a twirl he gripped the barrel and pushed the gun towards her, gesturing for her to take it.

She was speechless, was he-

“I have noticed that Captain Katsuragi is carrying a H&K USP in her shoulder holster.” His voice was flat and calm, if he had noticed her fear, and she was sure he did, then he showed no offense. “You seem to be lacking a firearm, Lieutenant Ibuki.” He reached for a holster that was on a chair. “In the case that you would need to defend yourself, you will be unable to do so. For the unlikely possibility, I would like to lend you mine.” He reached forward with his left hand with the shoulder holster and magazine.

“T-Thank you, Shinji-kun.” She slid off her tan NERV jacket and put the holster on, adjusted it for her size, and then took the magazine in her left hand, the pistol gently in her right.

She couldn’t help but give the pistol a good look. Maya was no gun person by any means, but she had to admit it was a beautiful handgun. Its finish was a flawless stainless steel, and the grips made of warm red wood and engraved with a cross and a comfortable texture for grip. It was well taken care of, Maya could see it easily. She knew it had to have seen heavy use, but it was immaculate and looked like it had never been fired. The sights even looked custom, she recognized them from some of the weapons used by NERV Security as fiber optic sights. On the slide were engravings above the accessory rail on both sides.

_SIG-Sauer P226R Stainless Katana Custom .45 ACP_

What really caught her attention though, was what was engraved on the slide. It was the same on both sides.

_“In you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, or let my enemies triumph over me.”  
–Psalm 25:2_

“Wow,” Misato commented over Maya’s shoulder. “That’s a nice gun there, Shinji-kun. SIG-Sauer P226R, good taste. NERV standard issue are Glock 17s though, so you’ll need to give her a quick once over of the controls later.”

“Of course, Captain Katsuragi.”

She smiled at him. “Please, just call me Misato. By the way, that’s a custom piece, right? I don’t think they make them in .45 ACP.”

He nodded, and true to what she was starting to see as a quiet boy, the conversation seemed to die.

To her and Misato’s surprise though, after a bit of awkward silence he continued. It was the closest thing he had done to initiating a conversation. “It was a gift from my sister. I received it as a gift on my 5th birthday. I was slated to start my training after.” He shifted, “like Misato-san said, it is customized. Since cyborgs can handle recoil better than humans and shoot more accurately, it was thought of as a waste for us to use smaller calibers.”

Maya saw an opportunity to get to know him a bit. He was more open, or willing to be open, than she thought. She couldn’t help but be unhappy that he seemed to separate cyborgs from normal people, but she kept that to herself for now. “Couldn’t she just have bought you a more powerful model?”

“That SIG was originally…my sister’s. She used it when she was in Division 2,” he explained with a noticeable blush. His tone surprised her too, it was like he received a gift from someone he had a crush on, a faint smile on his lips. “It…was the first birthday I can remember due to memory loss, so she wanted it to be special. She said that it had protected her, and now it will protect me. It is…the first gift I have ever gotten.” His blush grew deeper, “she has a matching one in 9mm.”

Maya and Misato shared a glance, and then she looked back at the pistol in her hands. Wow. She…she honestly felt touched, it was apparent that it was a possession of his that he cared a great deal about. For him to just lend it to her? She shared another glance with Misato.

 _‘He’s_ definitely _not what we were expecting.’_ She then turned to him and gave him her warmest smile, “please call me Maya. And thank you Shinji, I’ll take good care of it.”

His eyes seemed to widen a bit as a ghost of a smile was sent her way. “I’m counting on you, Maya-san.”

* * *

**Southern Outskirts of London**

_‘Almost time to start working,’_ Shinji thought to himself as he started to walk down the decrepit hallway. It smelled of mold and human stench, assaulting his sensitive sense of smell. He rolled his shoulders, finding it felt very odd to be without his SIG for the first time since he had gotten it. Shinji felt almost naked.

Silently he went over the plan in his head as he noticed how tense Maya-san seemed. The job was simple, far from the most complicated operation he's been in, his two new ‘handlers’ would get the door open. Then, he goes in and kills everyone, at the same time ensuring their safety as per usual. He was their sword and shield.

Basically, another day in the office.

Shortly they reached the door at the end of the hallway. Shinji made sure he kept back, out of the peep hole’s line of sight, several meters back. The TV inside was easily audible, muffled through the door, but to Shinji he might as well have been in the room.

He mentally frowned as he observed the young NERV Lieutenant, despite her rank and some training with firearms she had mentioned on the ride over that she was a scientist or some such. _‘Probably no combat experience, then.’_

That wasn’t good, nerves could get her killed. He called out to her, knowing that the TV would keep him from being heard by their targets. “Maya-san, I _will_ protect you. _Please_ , relax.”

She gave him a quick smile and a nod, and he could see the tension leave her shoulders, training in reading body language easily allowed him to catch it. After a nod to each other, the two NERV officers knocked on the door. It creaked open a tiny bit and the two started to feed the man, he could hear a male voice, the story they had come up with on the ride over. He tightened the grip on his guitar case and slid it off his back, carrying it in his right hand, and tensed his body to strike. His breathing was quickly put under control.

Like a coiled viper, he was ready to strike like lightning.

Then the door suddenly opened as an angry man stepped out, Shinji noticed the pistol stuffed into the back of his pants, and he quickly slammed the door behind him. The TV inside went silent.

He grabbed Maya by the collar and was about to push her into the wall.

Adrenaline flowed, and supercharged neurons and nerves went into overdrive, superhuman reflexes and comprehension speed kicked into action. The world seemed to slow as anger rose up in him.

How _dare_ he try to hurt his handler. Implants detected the spike of neurochemicals related to anger and anyone watching would have seen his retinas flash red, a warning to handlers that their cyborg's temper was about to snap, and snap quickly. 

Because when it did, people _died._

Like a viper going in for the bite the tension in his muscles was released, potential energy released in a burst of super human speed. Like a blur, with a swiftness that would make the greatest of Olympic sprinters green with envy, Shinji rushed forward with almost no effort.

To the terrorist’s credit, he noticed the sound Shinji made and let go of Maya, going for the Tokarev stuffed into the back of his pants. Too slow, too late.

With the force of a jackhammer Shinji swung the guitar case, aiming for the thin bones of the man’s temple with a spiraling uppercut.

The guitar case was custom made by Division 3’s Section 2, the same people who modified his pistol, and was made with the thought of its use as a melee weapon in mind. So, when a small body capable of ripping car doors off their frames swung it into the head of a human being, it held. The human being, did not.

There was a trio of sounds, bone was crushed, and brain matter turned into paste with a wet crunch and splat and _snap!_ The side of the man’s head was caved in, sending blood, bits of bone and even some teeth flying as the force travelled, smashing his jaw from the side. The case was swung with enough force to lift the man off his feet and send him flying, his neck snapping as it spun more than 180 degrees.

All this happened and was comprehended by the cyborg in a split second.

With the body still airborne he pressed a button on the handle, the guitar case clicking open, as he unzipped his hoodie with his freehand. Shinji grabbed the rifle in the guitar case as the body thumped onto the floor. He let go of the case.

It looked somewhat similar to an AK-47 with a cylinder around the barrel, with a folding stock, custom railed handguard, vertical grip, Aimpoint CompM3 dot sight and painted in an urban tiger stripe scheme. It was his primary weapon for years, its use showing in the worn paint, it was an AS VAL suppressed assault rifle.

Automatically he pulled on the folded stock and snapped it into place, flicked off the safety, shouldered the rifle, and rushed the door. _‘Time to be useful.’_

Quickly he kicked the door in, and in front of him was a small entry way that lead into the living room. Two men were sitting on the sofa, shocked. He aimed for the head of one and fired a quick burst of 9x39mm armour piercing rounds at 900 rounds per minute. It exploded in a pop of blood and gore, leaving nothing but the lower jaw down.

His sights quickly snapped to the other man and he fired another burst. The distinct sound of the rifle ran in his ears, no loud bang or sharp snap, just loud thuds and the clacking of the mechanics.

He charged into the apartment proper, taking cover at the end of the entryway. He had already memorised the layout beforehand, to his left would be the hall to the one large bedroom. On the hallway’s left would be the kitchen, and the washroom would be on the right. Several cyborg/handler teams had taken turns watching over the apartment for the past few weeks, so he knew the number of targets.

_‘Three down. Sound of cooking in the kitchen, shower is on in the washroom. I will hit that last.’_

His plan was set in a second and he popped around the corner, weapon ready.

There was another man there, in the entrance to the bedroom. _‘Shirt and boxers. Unarmed.’_

The AS VAL let off another rip of muffled barks, and the target’s shirt was a mess of red, and brass tumbled onto the floor. Before the man even hit the hardwood, he was out of cover and advancing in a sprint, just in case someone was in the kitchen and heard it. As he got there he whipped his rifle around the corner and charged in. There was a woman on the stove, going for an AK nearby. He rushed in and without needing to aim, with instinct and perfect muscle memory from thousands of hours of training, he fired a burst of subsonic 9x39mm rounds into her. She fell back, dead, onto the stove, nocking the pot of tomato sauce all over her.

Shinji stepped back and heard someone stepping lightly behind him, trying to sneak up. Like lightning he rolled out of the kitchen, holding the rifle with one hand and using his other arm to shield his head as he kept low. Smoothly he went into a crouch and his rifle snapped up and fired.

Another rushed out of the bedroom, armed with an AK. He fired again, dropping another target.

He could hear another man in the bedroom, rushing to meet him. _‘Plus one in the washroom, two left.’_

The rifle barked again, rounds impacting the drywall and doorway, sending dust and drywall flying as he supressed the enemy. Quickly he rushed forward, emptied the magazine in another supressing burst, he heard cursing, and quickly reloaded. As he entered the room, his rifle snapped to the side.

To see the biggest man Shinji had ever seen in his entire life. The man was prepared and he kicked at Shinji, he dodged but his rifle was knocked out of his hands.

“Kids, huh?” The man grinned as he sent a massive fist flying towards Shinji, “not so tough without a gun!”

The cyborg wasn’t surprised by the cocky attitude, he was a 14 year old kid that was slightly shorter than average, he _should_ lose in hand-to-hand combat. He wasn’t even physically impressive for his age, no bulging muscles that may attract attention or imply he was a threat. Shinji didn’t even attempt to dodge, and he easily caught the fist in his smaller hand. The man was strong, and was throwing all his weight into the punch, but he was still _human_. Flesh and blood. Artificial muscles and reinforced, almost unbreakable bones, gave Shinji the advantage. The man threw another punch, and it too was caught without effort.

Emotion flashed on the man’s face that Shinji recognized. Panic. Horror. It…confused Shinji. Self-preservation was important, the Agency was sure to keep it after the suicidal Generation-0 prototype cyborgs, and with it came fear for one’s life. To be afraid to the point of panicking, though? That was foreign.

There was a loud, wet _cruuunch_ as Shinji crushed both hands. The air was filled with screams, and the man collapsed onto his knees. Calmly, Shinji placed his right foot onto the man’s chest, gripped his hands and pulled, pushing with his leg at the same time.

_Pop!_

More screams.

The man’s arms now dislocated, he started to scream for… _‘His mother? I don’t understand. What purpose does it serve? This building is almost abandoned, there will be no reinforcements.’_

Deciding to save it for later if he remembered, Shinji shook his head and let the mans hands go and let the man fall onto his back before he pinned the man’s throat with his boot. _‘No reason to waste ammunition.’_

With the force akin to a hydraulic press he twisted and stepped down. There was a snap, a crack and the sound of a wet squish. _‘Target down, one more.’_

He spun and picked up his AS VAL and headed for the bathroom. The shower was still on, and for a moment he wondered if whoever was inside hadn’t heard the screaming, even with the loud shower.

The door was kicked in and his question was answered, two silhouettes behind the curtain. One male, one female.

There was only supposed to be one female target, his memory went into overdrive and photos were matched. The sole member of this terrorist cell was the woman in the kitchen. A prostitute? Girlfriend?

“Hey!” two voices shouted.

“Look,” the female voice called out. “I said one of you at a time, right? Be patient!”

Shinji replied by emptying all 30 rounds of his magazine into the shower, shredding the two on the other side. The curtain was painted red as blood from the two splashed against it, but keeping the kills quite clean to Shinji’s relief.

He so disliked making a mess for the clean up crews.

Automatically he reloaded as he turned and started to make his way back to Misato and Maya, a small smile on his face.

“Clear!” he announced.

It was a good engagement, around 50 seconds with no friendly casualties or injuries, and none of the targets had fired a single round. Quick and clean, his brothers and sisters would be impressed.

_‘I hope Misato and Maya-san are happy.’_

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed it. Now, I was asked this a lot many years ago with the original TS story. No, this is not a Gunslinger Girls crossover. The Agency there only existed in Italy and only had girls for cyborgs. Yes, Ferro is a GG character name, but her personality is way different. GG, which I love, just gave me the idea to ask "hey, what if Shinji was a killer cyborg?"
> 
> Anyway, please feel free to review and stuff!


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